The proposed site contains approximately 239.38 acres of land which is currently vacant, with a portion a mining quarry and a tree farm. The site is generally located west of South Post Road, north of Windmill Ranch Estates, east of the Florida Fruit Lands Company’s Subdivision and south of Southwest 26th Street. The location of the site is graphically shown on the location Map (see Figure 1). The property has a Land Use Designation of Agricultural and the Current Zoning is A-1 and P.U.D. See Figures 2 and 3 for the existing Land Use and Zoning Maps. See Figures 4 and 5 for a reduced copy of the proposed
and a copy of the Legal Description.
Current and historical land uses of the property include tree farming, range land for cattle, limerock quarry, and creation of lots with house pads. Such uses have: allowed the proliferation of exotic and nuisance plant species; disturbed or eliminated natural soil profiles; altered the hydrology; and degraded historic wetlands. The degraded wetlands have been assessed by the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protections (DPEP), the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). The evaluations have established that a total of ±117.3 acres of mitigation is proposed to compensate for wetland impacts. Environmental regulatory permits are pending.
The Soil Survey of Broward County, Florida, Eastern Part, indicates that Lauderhill Muck was historically the primary soil type in the area with a minor component of Dania Muck (see Figure 6). In many areas the historic soil profile has been severely altered by past and present land uses. Both Lauderhill and Dania Muck are characterized as “nearly level, very poorly drained, organic soil underlain by limestone” at 20 to 40 inches and 14 to 20 inches, respectively.
The majority of the site is relatively flat with existing ground conditions generally varying from approximately four and one-half feet NGVD to five and one-half NGVD. Historically, activities pertaining to mining of the existing quarry site represent the only features having substantial topographical relief. Such features include the quarry, scrape down areas, soil and muck wetlands and berms, and several lot pads.
The project is located entirely within the Indian Trace Development District. Lake and canal easements within the project will be dedicated to either the
/Indian Trace Development District or remain with the Estates of Swan Lakes
, whichever is appropriate.
Many of the Physical Features can be seen on the attached aerial from February 1998 (see Figure 7). Details of the adjacent area are shown on the Section Map (see Figure 8).